Westport senior Bryton Graham shot an 82 to qualify for the state championship, during the D3 South Sectional Tournament at The Ridge Club in Sandwich on Tuesday. Graham tied for 6th place while playing 11-over golf on the pro-style course. He moves on to play in the state tournament this Monday at Foxboro CC at 10:30 a.m. 

“Today was one of my better days,” Graham said. “It’s a really, really tough course. A tight hybrid design. It’s been one of my better years as a player.”

“This is just awesome for him,” said head coach Matt Kampper. “Bryton started as a seventh grader. I pulled him out of gym class to play, because I didn’t have enough players. He had no experience and was here for the zero win seasons. It’s been awesome for the guys who have been here to see the program grow.”

Wildcats place seventh as a team

The Wildcats placed 7th out of 13 teams at the sectional tournament on a course that none of them had ever played before. Sophomore Liam McMahon shot an 85 and placed 17th , Owen Boudria shot a 90 and placed 36th, sophomore Cole Boudria shot a 95 and placed 53rd, Ben Bernier shot a 105 and placed 68th and Will Forbes shot a 116 and placed 81st.

Stellar year for golf squad

It’s been a stellar year for the 11-3-1 Wildcats, who won the MAC championship at Acushnet River Valley for the first time in the history of the school.

Boudria led the team at Acushnet, shooting a 76. McMahon shot a 79, Graham tallied an 82 and Bernier shot an 88 for a team score of 325.

“It’s been our best year since I’ve been on the team,” said Graham. “It felt good to win the MAC. I’ve seen us come in last and now I’ve seen us come in first. It feels good to know that we were part of Westport’s first MAC championship.”

He and team captains, Boudria, a senior and Bernier, a junior, have been the driving force behind the Wildcats this season.

Owen has played phenomenally,” Coach Kampper said. “Bernier has had his ups and downs, but has overall had a really good season.”

McMahon, a sophomore, has also come on strong this season.

“Liam has performed well for us the last two seasons,” Coach Kampper said. “He’s been a very consistent player for us.”

McMahon and underclassmen, Cole Boudria and Will Forbes will help keep the momentum going forward for Coach Kampper next season.

“We should have a strong team next year,” he said. “We’ll be strong at the top and we have some young guys who will have to step up.”

Golf team began the season 1-3

It wasn’t all roses for the Wildcats, who  began their season in the gutter, at 1-3.

“We had a lot of guys coming back. I felt that we were going to be good again,” said Coach Kampper. “We started slow, then the guys got that chip back on their shoulders and then, wow.”

The Wildcats rolled off an 11-match unbeaten streak (10-0-1) and then won the conference tournament.

“It’s been the culmination of the last few years,” said Coach Kampper. “When I took over the program in 2019, we were the doormat of the league.”

Coach Kampper took the challenge, changed the Wildcats mindset and attitude and now they are a competitive team in the league every season. Westport has made three state-tourney appearances in a row. Each year they have placed higher than the last.

“It’s just been amazing,” he said.